A string of surveys conducted by the Income Tax (I-T) sleuths at 11 premises of the Alchemist Group of Hospitals has brought to the fore unaccounted money worth Rs 22 crore,arguably the highest recovery in the regions history.

A string of surveys conducted by the Income Tax (I-T) sleuths at 11 premises of the Alchemist Group of Hospitals has brought to the fore unaccounted money worth Rs 22 crore,arguably the highest recovery in the regions history.

This is the highest unaccounted money recovered so far in the region. We are still investigating and scrutinising the documents, said a senior officer with the department.

Nearly 60 officers raided the premises of the Alchemist Group in Chandigarh,Kurali,Ropar,Dera Bassi,Solan,Sirmour,Okhla Industries in New Delhi,Kolkata and Mumbai.

The I-T officials identified unaccounted money worth Rs 5 crore,shown as land investment in Shimla and Rs 3.5 crore that was shown as investment in property located in Jagadhari.

Also,Rs 2 crore shown as income from agriculture was not mentioned in the accounts of the group,claimed the I-T sleuths.

The other questionable investments comprise advance payment made for land at Faridkot,Baddi and a residential property in Sector 33,Chandigarh.

We have identified huge discrepancies in the documents recovered. We are still investigating, said another I-T officer.

As many as 15 lockers belonging to Subhash Mangat and Motia Groups have also been seized. L C Mittal,Director,Motia Developers Private Limited,said the I-T raid began at 8.20 am on Wednesday and continued till 5 in the morning today.

The I-T officials reportedly seized all property-related documents and also recovered cash worth Rs 2.5 lakh from the house in addition to Rs 10.50 lakh seized from the company.

Mangat Rai Baboota,a property dealer from Sector 22,denied the recovery of cash from his office or house,but admitted that some documents were seized.

This is just an attempt by the I-T department to create pressure as it is the second time in a year that our premises are being raided by the department. The technical team is expected to visit again to search the laptops and computers, said Baboota.